King of Fighters XII Hands-on

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So very crisp... it burns the eyes!

By Ryan Clements

Although I still haven't had the opportunity to go super in-depth with King of Fighters XII, the upcoming reboot of SNK Playmore's long-running franchise, I did finally go hands-on with the game in order to whet my appetite for delicious 2D goodness. King of Fighters XII, due out in July of this year, incorporates the classic three-on-three dynamic of the previous games -- as well as a number of the main combat systems -- but presents it all in blistering, hand-drawn HD visuals. This is truly one of the sharpest 2D games I've ever seen and watching it in motion makes the screenshots look completely lifeless. This really is a fighter that must be experienced first-hand.

King of Fighters XII reintroduces fans to a classic roster of series veterans, including Terry and Andy Bogard, Ash Crimson, Iori Yagami, Kim Kaphwan and Robert Garcia. The main difference between the older games and XII, however, are the brand new visuals -- a ridiculously refreshing change considering how the series' sprites haven't improved in years. And although the game's aesthetics might have been given a total overhaul, the fighting mechanics still feel very much like a King of Fighters game.

Here's Elizabeth...

What surprised me the most when I picked up the controller was how much weight the characters had. It was a fantastic feeling, especially when you compare it with other 2D fighters where characters move around without any real substance. As I wasn't able to experiment with the game over a long period of time, it's difficult for me to explain the game's mechanics in-depth. Basically, the entire scheme is traditional and will be immediately recognizable to any gamer who's played a fighting game before. There's a standard health bar for each character and a power meter at the bottom of the screen for executing super attacks. Standard throws are also included as well as an evasive roll that can help your fighter get out of sticky situations.

Every character can also counter at any time. During a character's counter frames, if an opponent lands a strike on you, your character will immediately follow-up with a counter attack that tends to knock your opponent across the screen. This is not only an extremely important gameplay mechanic for advanced players, but it also looks damn stylish. There's nothing quite as satisfying as reversing an incoming attack and sending your once-confident rival sailing through the air.

King of Fighters XII also sports Critical Counters, which function very much like standard counters, except you have to build up your Critical Counter gauge in order to execute them. If you manage to pull one off, you can string together a custom combo that your opponent can't block against, which creates some devastating (and flashy) on-screen moves.

All the backgrounds in King of Fighters XII are gorgeous and really highlight the high-quality, hand-drawn animation that SNK Playmore is showing off. Arenas range from French cafes to Egyptian temples, with plenty of detail exploding in the background (which will inevitably distract you). I couldn't help but notice that, according to the game's developers, every woman in France is an overweight, hysterical bystander. That's the impression anyway, as the streets of the French arena were filled to the brim with exuberant, rotund ladies. I'm sure someone will take offense eventually.

...and that's Mature. Mature has a sexy eye patch.

New to the console version of King of Fighters XII are two playable characters: Mature and Elizabeth. I always appreciate added characters to a fighting game experience, as expanding a game's roster is often helpful for expanding a game's longevity. While I had trouble acquainting myself with Mature's fighting style, I found myself enjoying matches with Elizabeth, as she had several sliding counter moves and some nice close-range attacks that made her as deadly as she was pretentious. I'm eager to play more and further investigate both characters.

Although I didn't have hands-on time with it personally, I was told about the game's online battle mode, which will actually feature clan support exclusively on the PS3 version. When you think clan support, you usually think of the FPS genre, but apparently King of Fighters XII junkies will be able to form clans, create clan emblems and compete in clan matches. That's an awesome approach to the online fighting landscape, so I'm hopeful that it'll catch on and garner community support.

King of Fighters XII will also have a replay editor, where you can upload and share entire matches on both the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. The preview build of the game I was shown was running on the PS3 and the main menu included a PlayStation Store option. This hopefully indicates that downloadable content is planned for the game sometime in the future, but nothing has been announced officially.

With such potential for a robust multiplayer experience and such vivid, well-drawn character sprites, it's hard not to be excited about King of Fighters XII. Hopefully it will live up to our expectations when it hits the PS3 and 360 this July.